There will be four new construction projects on the Colorado State University campus in 2017.
1. Practice fields west of stadium:
One and a half practice fields, made of synthetic turf, will be built to the west of the new football stadium, with an Agricultural Heritage Garden connecting the two and celebrating the agricultural history of the University.
The project will be paid for with funds set aside from the new stadium’s budget, according to CSU Athletic Director Joe Parker.
The fields and garden will be built on parts of parking lot #240 and the old perennial gardens, which were moved north of the University Center for the Arts earlier this month. The arboretum that is near the new stadium will be supplemented with new walking paths and tree identification guides.
2. Expansion to Natural Resources building: $20 million
The first expansion to a building on the CSU campus since the 1970s is expected to begin next year as well. Following a donation by alumni Michael Smith, called the “final piece of the funding puzzle” by Warner College of Natural Resources Dean John Hayes, the new expansion will come to the Natural Resources Building. It will be renamed the Michael Smith Natural Resources Building.
The expansion will cost $20 million and will add 37,400 square feet to the south side of the building, including new classrooms, new offices, new teaching labs and a student success center.
The project is expected to begin in summer 2017 and be completed by fall of 2018.
3. Animal Sciences Building expansion: $13.1 million
The Gary and Kay Smith Global Food Innovation Center will begin construction in summer 2017 and finish fall 2018.
The $13.1 million, 36,600 square feet expansion to the Animal Sciences building will include a livestock and meat processing center, a livestock arena, Temple Grandin-designed holding and harvesting areas, a research and development center and sensory analysis room, an auditorium lecture hall and meat demonstration classroom, and a retail meat and dairy store and café, according to the College of Agricultural Sciences.
4. Richardson Design Center: $16.5 million
The final project will be the Richardson Design Center, a $16.5 million, 41,000 square feet building constructed west of Gifford.
Named after donors Nancy and Curt Richardson, CSU almuni who are also co-founders of the OtterBox phone cases, the center will be built in hopes to make CSU one of the best colleges in the country for design.
“Design has provided wonderful inspirations and long-term impacts in my life, and both Curt and I want to help inspire the next generation of professionals,” said Nancy Richardson in a SOURCE article.
“The Richardson Design Center will elevate what we do here at CSU in so many different programs, to incredible new heights,” said Brett Anderson, the vice president for university advancement, in the same article.
The Richardson Design Center will begin construction in fall 2017, and is expected to be finished in early 2019.
All four projects will be paid for by funds from the University’s general funds, and donations from alumni and other donors.
Collegian reporter Stuart Smith can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @notstuartsmith.
